Saturday, March 7, 2009

millinery


Here's a little tidbit I made up to go along with the tulip cardigan. The parents of this baby are supposedly not into frou-frou girly things, so I tried to come up with a hat that had some flexibility. On the one hand, the cardigan seems to call for a 30's-style cloche or helmet, which of course needs an oversized, stylized flower. On the other hand, frou-frou-free parents may object to the flower. Hence the solution:


A removable flower. If they want this baby to sport a pared-down, tailored hat, they can, and if not, they can attach the flower for some frou.

Here are the specs:

Sizes: 3-6 (6-9, 9-12) months
Gauge: 6 stitches and 8 rows/inch
Needles: size 3 16" circular, size 3 double-pointed
Requirements: less than 100 yards sport-weight yarn each in colors MC, A, B, C; tapestry needle; one large-ish button.


With circular needles, cast on 84 (88, 92) stitches in brown (color A). Being careful not to twist, join to knit circularly, and work 4 rounds of k1, p1 rib. Break yarn and join tan (color C). Knit one round. Break yarn and join green (MC). Work 2 inches in seed stitch (*k1, p1 in round one, *p1, k1 in round two), adding one stitch at the end of the first seed stitch round so that you can just mindlessly go around and around over an odd number of stitches. Break yarn and join tan (color C). Knit one round. Break yarn and join brown (color A).

Work in stockinette (all knit) until piece measures 4 (5, 5) inches. In next round, decrease by 1 (increase by 2, decrease by 2) stitches randomly in round to get a multiple of 7 stitches. 84 (91, 91) stitches. In next round, place a marker after every 12th (13th, 13th) stitch. In the next round, begin decreasing as follows:

Round 1: *k to 2 stitches before marker, k2tog, rep from *
Round 2: knit.

Repeat these two rows until there are six stitches between each marker. Switch to double-pointed needles when it gets too tight. Then work decreases every row instead of every other. When there are 2 stitches between each marker, break yarn and thread through all stitches, dropping markers as you do so. Pull tight to draw together stitches.

Weave in ends and block. Sew one pretty large button to center of green band, at a jaunty place on the side of the hat.

Flower:

With double-pointed needles, CO 68 stitches in pink (color B). Join carefully to work in round, being careful to avoid twisting. Work in stockinette (all knit) until work measures 1.5 inches. K2tog across round, break yarn, and thread through all stitches. Pull to draw together, but leave a big enough hole in the middle to fit around your button. Knot yarn to keep from loosening up again, weave in ends and block.

Button flower to hat and enjoy!

20 comments:

Sue said...

I love it even without the flower.

Tamara Paetkau said...

What a brilliant idea!
I love your knits, they are so clean and classic looking but still modern.

knitandputt said...

this is a great idea, thanks for sharing the pattern.

Rachel said...

SO cute, and what a great idea!

Megan said...

Awesome pattern... about how big would you make this if it were for an adult?

Jen said...

Megan, I'd say, measure around your head (or the head of the person you're knitting it for, and multiply that number by your gauge. There's also a chart of standard head sizes here: http://www.yarnstandards.com/headsize.html

Rachel said...

I'm trying to make it for a 12 month old but can't get it right. Any ideas?

Jen said...

Hey Rachel --

I'd CO 96-100 stitches and then wait until the hat is about 6-7" from the CO before decreasing.

Alex Kinney said...

How would you alter the pattern to use worsted weight yarn?

Jen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jen said...

Just like altering any pattern for a different weight yarn, you'd have to adjust for gauge. Here the gauge is 6 stitches per inch, but with worsted it might be 5 stitches per inch. So if my instructions for the smallest size say to cast on 84 stitches, 84/6 is 14 inches. 14x5 is 70 -- that's the number you'd need to cast on in your gauge.

Unknown said...

Perfect for the baby girls that are coming soon. Thanks for the pattern!

Anonymous said...

Wow, this is gorgeous! Jen, do you allow people to sell the items that they make using your patterns? Some knitters do, some don't and I wanted to check.

This is an utterly beautiful hat! You are so talented!

dans les dressing de mes ptits titis said...

Vraiment très joli, j'adore
bravo

Mari said...

This is adorable! Can't wait to knit for this little girl. :)

Anonymous said...

I have been LONG looking for a KNIT flower- since I can't crochet a flower to save my life. Will this really pucker to look like a flower if it's just stockinette? You didn't do anything different to make the ridges? Do you have any other ideas for knit flowers?

Jen said...

Thanks! Yes, it really will pucker like that because of the quick decreasing you are doing. I don't know any other knit flowers, but I bet there are other patterns on Ravelry!

Joyce said...

i followed the instructions blindly, and knitted one round in tan right after the p1k1 rib... only to notice (too late) that the hat in the picture had that row in seed stitch!!!!!

Meira Shana said...

I notice 'stockinette' (all knit).

I'm used to garter st being all knit (bumps on both sides looking like purl st).

Stockinette St is V on one side and - on the other.

Is the difference when worked in the round?

Jen said...

Yes, Meira, when you knit in the round you produce stockinette by knitting all rounds.